1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas turbine system burning heavy-oil modified fuel and a method of operating the gas turbine system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a gas turbine system in which heavy oil is modified by reaction caused upon mixing with water and an obtained light component is burnt as fuel in a gas turbine for electric power generation, and to a method of operating the gas turbine system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heavy oil contains considerable amounts of heavy metals and is not suitable as fuel for a gas turbine to generate electric power. Methods of removing metals from heavy oil for conversion to a useful energy source are therefore proposed so far. One of those methods includes the step of contacting high-temperature and high-pressure water with heavy oil under reaction conditions of not lower than 350° C. and not lower than 20 MPa, thereby decomposing the heavy oil (see, e.g., Patent Document 1; JP,A 2003-49180 (Abstract)). Hydrocarbon gas, a light oil component, a heavy component, and metal compounds, such as metal oxides, are obtained through decomposition of the heavy oil. Among them, the hydrocarbon gas and the light oil component are dissolved in the high-temperature and high-pressure water to obtain modified oil as gas turbine fuel. The metal compounds present in the heavy oil are removed in the form of calcium compounds or by combining them with a trapping agent, e.g., coke.